Her Majesty Dogmad

My apologies, I'd missed the bit about you saying you were a breeder. I run a breed rescue with a breeder and she cannot take any dogs fresh from a pound because Clyde is right, it can compromise your own dogs. I think you'd need to either set up a rescue with foster carers where you yourself didn't have to take the dogs (this is very hard) unless they were quarantined, quarantine them (fees involved) or foster for an organisation that does. That said, not everyone will place dogs with undesexed dogs unless they can be kept separate so there are a few issues to think about.

This is still happening to the poor little chap, he's got to go back to the vet again. If anyone else has any epxerience pls post

I dont' exercise female dogs for 10 days after desxing surgery, it's pretty major stuff. Hard to keep the younger ones quiet but even they can go downhill if you aren't careful. It's surprising how many people don't seem to realise, I rehomed a dog to an older lady via a shelter. She picked the dog up from there and they didn't tell her to rest the dog the day after her surgery. she took her on a long walk, off to a dog park - I was mortified when I spoke to her and explained all, luckily the dog was fine.

Denise of PAWS rescues Pugs constantly these days, there is sadly no shortage of them at all. She also has foster carers outside the greater Sydney area so best to contact her.

I think PR also needs to stop shipping out dogs by quantity rather than quality and the same goes for the homes chosen. Why on earth would a kid think it was OK to hit a dog with a plank of wood? The mother first said it was a small slap on the side, no mention of wood and then later that the dog was hit with a plank of wood. FFS, what sort of home allows a child to do that?

Sorry Pound Rounds but all your attacks and bleating don't wash with me. WHY can't you go into the pounds and take your own photos and make your own assessments? WHY? Is it because you are too busy asking people for money? The fact that you state you do this but don't is raising money on false pretences. The incident described is not a simple bite - I've been bitten by a few dogs in rescue work and none of them required me to be airlifted to hospital or have surgery on my throat. A bite to the throat indicates a serious intent and attack. Noone should be encouraging an owner in that position to keep the dog.

I just read a horrific story from the UK where a staffy type dog was loose in a park (with it's owner) and bit off a child's ear, the father had to punch the dog in the head until it let go. Part of the ear was found by another couple and rushed to hospital but it couldn't be reattached. If a dog goes for the throat it is not an accident, it means business - it's how many of them would kill another dog or a person. I could not believe the posts that were suggesting the person kept the dog or passed it on. Totally unbelievable.

By the way, drooling can be a sign of stress. I too can tell how much you dislike this dog. I often have people continually saying "put him/her to sleep", just because a dog I take on has been mistreated and is afraid of men for instance - I don't believe a dog should die for that. Before I rescued the dog it may have been kicked and beaten from one side of the room to another, by a man. I am not saying that's happened to this dog but someone who knows what they are doing really needs to make assessments before an innocent animal loses its life. I'll give you some examples here of ordinary owners at work. I once took a call from a woman who wanted to rehome her year old Border Collie. Not unusual. Why? Because it was doing what BCs do, it was nipping the kids on the backs of their heels as they ran. It wasn't being walked at all by the way, so had no outlet for its energy. I said it was only doing what they are bred for but that I would help. I rang back a few bours later only to have her tell me in a delighted tone, that I was too late, she'd taken the dog to the vet and had it euthanased. Second example, a lady I spoke to on Saturday told me about buying a Bichon Frise puppy from a breeder who kept the dogs permanently in cages, stacked high. The animals pooped and peed on newspaper in the cages. The poor dog wasn't housetrained and pooped and peed in places she wasn't happy with such as on the bed, carpet etc. She screamed and shouted at the dog. This went on for 5 yrs and then the dog improved slightly. She said the dog had never been right, one example was when she'd pick the dog up it would go all stiff and stick its legs out straight. I explained that was a stance from a dog in terror. She's kept the dog as her child quite liked it but she has thought about euthanasing it many times, she has never bonded to the dog and still compares it to a dog she preferred. She has never walked the dog either because she didn't like the fact it pulled on the lead ....

That's the thing, being away gave him an outlet for his energy - Jack Russells need exercise and mental stimulation, they are a working dog. If his energy isn't being used up then this can cause frustration. He sounds like he has high drive. I had a high drive fox terrier and he went mental if you squirted water at him, it was a case of finding the right thing to do, to manage him. I found obedience training was fantastic for him. Personally I want a dog that barks when people come to the door, there's been a lot of burglaries in this area and I hope to God mine will bark. I've had other dogs, generally terrier types, who want to defend their property but it doesn't mean they'd attack a person that the owner let in. It really could be a case here of having a misunderstood dog in the wrong home.

When JRTs and some other terriers are "wound up", it's not a good idea to go picking them up. The aggression can be transferred onto the nearest object. They are not the dogs for everyone. Where's the original breeder? I'd get a behaviouralist to assess the dog, it could well just be frustrated. It sounds possible that the owner doesn't know how to read this dog, it's obviously not going to work out. You can't rehome a problem dog unless it's been assessed and then could be placed into a breed knowledgeable home providing it isn't actually aggressive but just misunderstood. Is it being regularly exercised? No good for any dog to be locked out or locked up for any period of time, not days, weeks, months and certainly not years.

Too late, the dog is sold

Thanks Sway, I should have added that I spoke to Sarsanet this morning and she hasn't bred Bedlingtons yet. She made some suggestions and I called the other nearest breeder in Tas but didn't get through. I'm sure that the breeder of the dog would def. want to know about this and hopefully Sarah will be able to alert the right person.

I couldn't find a VIC breeder, tried to call a Tasmanian breeder this morning.

Nothing wrong with righteous indignation when something is SO WRONG. I will continue to rail against these morons that cause so much suffering and I speak from experience. It's all so easy to forget about the suffering and death of over 150,000 unwanted dogs each year really .... I hope to God her dog doesn't need a Caesar - even the suffering of 1 dog and it's puppies bothers me and it's because it doesn't bother everyone else that we will continue to have the problem.

"do wees" is the command so you say that in the normal voice, when she goes you praise her and say "good girl, do wees" in the high pitched tone. Eventually you should just be able to take her out, tell her to do wees and she should respond, you can simply praise her then without saying "do wees" as she has obviously learned what it is. My dogs take themselves out now but occasionally I have need to tell them to go and they still will and I still praise them as they've done what I asked. Sounds like she's doing well - good news!

I rescue both Italian Greyhounds and other dogs and like many others in rescue, it does cost a great deal of money much of the time. And sometimes you end up with no dog. In October, I was in the very unfortunate position of not having $5000+ available for an urgent specialist high risk surgery for an older dog I took from a country pound. My vet recommended i let him go, I was completely devastated but had to either remortgage my house or let the dog go. The surgery itself was high risk of failure, it would likely have required a second surgery for the same amount, also with a high risk of failure. Each time there would have been lengthy recuperation periods with a high degree of care and monitoring for the rest of the dog's life plus a special diet. I simply did not have all the resources needed and the dog would have suffered throughout the surgical procedures, perhaps to no avail. This dog had been in the pound for 7 days, a kennel for 3 days and then transported. Only the transporter noticed the issue which I could see as soon as I spent 30 seconds with the dog and raced him off to the vet. I don't personally foster large or young dogs - I don't have the space nor the time. The only time I've had complaints from neighbours have been when young dogs have been playing and barking at the same time so I've learned I can't rescue them and have them here, I have to depend on the 1 or 2 foster carers I have to have them which does limit things. I do have foster carers for young dogs and that works fine. They are mainly Italian Greyhounds and they are an expensive breed to rescue - they often require dentals, even at 2 yrs of age. You can't always predict when you are going to have extra costs - there can be hidden problems that only surface during blood tests etc. There's no easy answer but I don't criticise anyone for only rescuing small dogs, white dogs, young dogs or a particular breed. We all have to do what we believe we can manage.

OMG. Whatever next? They are unbelievable. They are not doing anything useful, I wish they would just stop.

RIP Mandrake, so sad for you.

And as I rehome yet another unwanted Petshop puppy, these claims make me fume - yes, they breed for demand so don't buy one of those petshop puppies. I just spoke to yet another owner who bought a dog "with papers", a purebred Maltese/Poodle dog from the local petshop. The pictures show me that the dog is mainly a Jack Russell. It is being rehomed because it is far too energetic and demanding for teh owner. Perhaps if they had gotten a Malt or a Poodle, they wouldn't be in the mess they are in. And now the poor little mite has to find a new home. The problem is, unlike rescue groups, the petshop doesn't take their dogs back a year on ..... nor do the puppy farms - not that you'd ever find the guilty one via the petshop. They informed this person that no, their puppies didn't come from puppyfarms. No of course not.

I should say that I always close the doors to other rooms when in training mode and take up all rugs etc. Most ex showdogs are trained to pee on pads, maybe you could check with the breeder and you can do something similar initially such as get a pee pad and keep it close to the door. As the door is open, gradually start moving it over a few days, until the pee pad is outside. You can leave the old pee pads on the lawn and she can sniff them, I've used this old trick before. It encourages the dog to go outside.

I have an ex show dog here, she lived in a kennel situation for 8 yrs. She's also a breed that is very difficult to housetrain. I took her and another dog, slightly younger, and used my method of housetraining and it worked. The only additional thing I had to do was give all my dogs raw pineapple in their dinners for 3 days because the new dogs were eating it ... I put all new foster dogs in crates at night and rush them outside first thing. This also proved a small challenge with the older dog who would just poo in the crate and eat it or leave it ..... gawd. She did get it eventually, just kindness, patience and practice - I'd say it took a couple of weeks. I've also housetarined a 15 yr old dog I rescued last Easter using the same method. Make no mistake - with many dogs it is hard work, I'm experiencing difficulties with a current older dog who has never been inside a house before. He's very reluctant to use the dog door when I'm at work and he's the second dog in a row I've had like that. Have had many dogs over the years and have always been quite lucky! HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded. NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

I would imagine the puppy wouldn't have been a kilo in weight yet if purebred? Vets should not be giving anaesthetic to a dog under 1 kilo.

Italian Greyhounds have little body fat and are lap dogs, not only can they not cope with the weather extremes (cold or hot), they really need to be near their owners. Therefore they are house dogs, not for being kept outside. I run Iggy Rescue. If you are going ahead with taking on the Iggy, I can give you as much support on housetraining etc that you need. If it doesn't work out (ie not the right dog for you), we would be prepared to help you with finding the dog a new home.

Ellie's wonderful foster family have made their decision - Ellie is home to stay!! Happy, happy days for her forever more.

I had my old girl on Lysodren, it was an awful treatment but she actually lived 4 yrs on that, normally 3 yrs is max. At the time that was the only medication available and she died in 2008. I remember her diagnosis tests were long and drawn out and it cost me #4000 in 2004 .... I eventually changed vets. Currently I have a Cushings dog and he's been very well on a medication called "Trilostane". There were a lot of tests to confirm it was Cushings but nowhere near as bad as my last dog. Merlin has a tablet every day, it's not like Lysodren where you had to wear gloves, it was hard to cut tablets and so on. Trilostane is a simple capsule that goes into a bit of food and everyone is happy ... Both of my dogs have had the pituitary tumour which is less common but has caused Merlin to have cruciate ligament problems so he now can't walk far but as long as he leads a quietish life he's OK - he is around 12 yrs old and was diagnosed last year. One of my beloved dogs wasn't diagnosed with Cushings but it was suspected when both his cruciate ligaments went at once and he didn't respond to treatment and I lost him in 2009. Unless they are very old I'd def. want diagnosis and meds but it can also be hard to actually detect in some dogs.